Rick Peck
Special to McDonald County Press
The Lamar Tigers used five different methods to score points, including six touchdowns by the Tigers' highly vaunted ground game, as the top-ranked team in Missouri Class 2 rolled to a 73-0 win Friday night over the McDonald County Mustangs at Lamar High School.
In addition to six rushing touchdowns, Lamar scored two touchdowns on interception returns, one touchdown each on a pass play and a punt return and -- for good measure -- all-state kicker Todd Morrow added a field goal and 10 points after touchdowns.
Lamar used 15 different ball carriers to finish with 290 yards on a total of 43 carries. Senior running back Danny Embry led the Tigers with 114 yards and three touchdowns on just six carries, which tied quarterback Matt Whyman for the most carries.
Quarterback Stuart McKarus threw the Tigers' only two passes, completing both, including a 43-yard touchdown pass to T.W. Ayers.
McKarus and Whyman both line up in the shotgun in the Tigers' two-quarterback set. The snap goes to either one of the two, depending on what play is called.
Lamar scored its first touchdown on a four-yard run by Embry at the 10:43 mark of the first quarter. The Tigers started the two-play drive on the McDonald County 14-yard line after Daniel Brisbane recorded the first of his three interceptions.
Lamar then forced McDonald County to punt on the Mustangs' ensuing possession, which was returned 59 yards for a touchdown by Luke Hardman.
Lamar added three more touchdowns in the first quarter to take a 35-0 lead into the second period.
The Tigers added a 33-yard McKarus-to-Ayers touchdown pass, a 26-yard interception return by Brisbin and a 57-yard touchdown run by Embry in the second quarter to take a 56-0 lead at halftime.
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McDonald County's best drive of the first half ended when Lamar linebacker Jed Stahl intercepted a Mustangs pass at the McDonald County eight-yard line when the pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage.
The eight-play drive was keyed by a 25-yard pass from Mark Kailbourn to Jake Will. Will added seven yards on two carries and Kailbourn had eight yards on two carries before Stahl picked on the fourth Mustang pass of the first half.
Lamar opened the second half with Morrow's 40-yard field goal and added a touchdown on a 35-yard interception return by Michael Danner before scoring its final touchdown with 4:27 left in the game on a 17-yard run by Isaiah Cleveland.
McDonald County finished with 72 total yards, including only 31 on the ground after 35 yards in sacks were deducted. Will led the Mustangs with 53 yards on 12 carries.
Kailbourn completed two of 13 passes for 34 yards, both to Will. Freshman Shiloh Jackson completed one pass to Caleb Spears for seven yards.
The Mustangs fall to 1-5 overall, 1-4 in the Big 8 Conference, heading into Friday's game when McDonald County hosts Seneca.
"We are very excited to play Seneca this week, especially after a one point loss last year in overtime," said coach Corey Henry. "That's something that eats on you daily. Our kids understand the opportunity that is ahead of us. The next upcoming weeks are huge for us.
"We will get some guys back this week that have been dinged up," Henry said. "Coach Scheible (Seneca coach Dan Scheible) will have Seneca coached well. He's a great coach and puts his kids in positions to be successful. Execution will be a must for us to be successful."
Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Sports on 10/01/2015